1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel tank opening and closing device for opening a flap valve using the insertion force of a fueling nozzle to fuel a fuel tank.
2. Description of the Related Art
A example of a related fuel tank opening and closing mechanism includes a flap valve mechanism provided at the fuel cap, disclosed in JP-A 2007-331518. The flap valve mechanism is sealed by closing the inlet of the fuel path using the flap valve as well as by energization using a spring. The flap valve mechanism opens the inlet by pressing the flap valve against the spring energization force using the fueling nozzle during fueling. When fuel is injected from the fueling nozzle, the fuel rises in the fuel path and touches the sensor provided in the fueling nozzle, fuel stops automatically.
With the fuel tank opening and closing device, because the opening operation is done by pressing the flap valve with the tip of the fueling nozzle, the fueling nozzle sways easily during insertion, and there are times when the insertion work cannot be done smoothly. During fueling, as the fueling nozzle is insufficiently positioned at the outer edge of the inlet, the fueling nozzle sways easily, the sensor erroneously operates auto stop due to airborne droplets of fuel, and there were cases of trouble with fueling.